New Japan Pro Wrestling Articles - Page 4

Kenny Omega is a man with a foot in two very different worlds. In AEW, he’s a member of The Elite, a lighthearted trio who are always down to have a good time and currently hold the AEW World Trios Championship, and in New Japan Pro Wrestling, he’s “The Cleaner,” arguably the most popular gaijin […]

When Mercedes Moné signed on to become the new face of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Women’s division, it felt like only a matter of time before the former WWE  Superstar held the IWGP Women’s Championship high over her head in victory. Sure, KAIRI is one of the best female wrestlers in the world, her title […]

Heading into NJPW Battle in the Valley, “SwitchBlade” Jay White had very little to gain and almost everything to lose. Facing off against his biggest NJPW Strong rival, Eddie Kingston, at Battle in the Valley, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest US show since Forbidden Door, Jay White faced the prospects of having to leave the […]

Heading into Battle in the Valley, Eddie Kingston was afforded a chance to address his forthcoming “Loser Leaves NJPW” match ahead of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Battle in the Valley and let it be know that he has absolutely no interest in losing a match to “Switchblade” Jay White, as he respects wrestling and his […]

Though many fans of professional wrestling are gearing up to watch Sami Zayn take on Roman Reigns at the 2023 WWE Elimination Chamber, there is a second premium event on the books that could be just as entertaining in New Japan Pro Wrestling Battle in the Valley, a show featuring Mercedes Moné in her first […]

After spending a decade in WWE working all over the card as one of the promotion’s “Four Horsewomen of the Women’s Revolution,” Mercedes Moné is looking to go out on her own and fully establish herself as one of the best wrestlers in the world today. With a match forthcoming against fellow former WWE standout […]

After losing his “Loser Leaves Japan” match to Hikuleo at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s New Beginning in Osaka, Jay White finds himself one of the hottest would-be free agents in all of professional wrestling. AEW clearly has a horse in the game, as “Switchblade” wrestled one heck of a match at Forbidden Door in his […]

In order to prepare for her match with KAIRI at Battle in the Valley, Mercedes Moné has been spending her time in the New Japan Pro Wrestling LA Dojo, where she’s been training under head trainers KUSHIDA – of NJPW, AEW, and Impact fame – and Fred Rosser, who is currently the second-ever NJPW STRONG […]

New Japan Pro Wrestling found itself in a no-win situation heading into New Beginning in Osaka. With a “Loser Leave Japan” match booked between “Switchblade” Jay White, the leader of Bullet Club and former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, and Hikuleo, the 6-foot-8, 264-pound son of the legendary Haku who, along with his brothers Tama Tonga […]

By absolutely demolishing Dolph Ziggler on RAW, Bronson Reed punched his ticket to the 2023 WWE Elimination Chamber. While his inclusion in the match may not have been the most obvious choice for WWE-only fans, those who watched Reed run the show in Impact and New Japan Pro Wrestling know that there’s more to the […]

When New Japan Pro Wrestling’s next premier event, The New Beginning in Osaka, comes to an end, either “Switchblade” Jay White or Hikuleo will have to leave Japan for good and continue with their professional wrestling journey elsewhere. That’s right, after spending years together in Bullet Club, either White, a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion […]

When news broke that Karl Fredericks was leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling after a standout stint as a member of the LA Dojo, it wasn’t too surprising for fans of the promotion. Sure, Fredericks was used a ton on NJPW’s American streaming content, and even had a burgeoning relationship with Christopher Daniels going, but he […]

After making her return to independent wrestling and debuting under her Mercedes Monè gimmick at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17, AEW fans patiently waited for the performer formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE to make her long-awaited return to American television on the January 11 edition of Dynamite. On paper, the idea was pretty self-explanatory; […]

Though it’s officially been announced that Mercedes Moné isn’t going to be Saraya’s mystery partner on Dynamite, fans of AEW, NJPW, and beyond are still holding out hope that “The Boss” will be in Los Angeles on January 11th either in the ring with Hikaru Shida or someone else or as a guest sitting ringside […]

When Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay were duking it out in a 35-minute match for the ages at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17, fans online had one not-so-surprising name trending on Twitter: Dave Meltzer. That’s right, the Roger Ebert of Pro Wrestling himself has been one of the biggest champions of both “The Best Bout Machine” […]

Folks, it’s official: Mercedes Moné is not going to be Saraya’s tag team partner when AEW takes Dynamite to the “Fabulous” Kia Forum in Los Angeles for a tag match with current AEW Women’s World Champion Jamie Hayter and former AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker. I know, Moné made her surprise NJPW debut at […]

The era of Mercedes Moné has officially begun. Mercedes Moné, formerly known as Sasha Banks, made her arrival at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. This was one of wrestling’s worst-kept secrets considering everybody knew she’d be at the event for weeks. But still, the moment she showed up was incredible. After making her way to the […]

Jay White vs. Kazuchika Okada is a main event-caliber match. You put that match on 100 cards – especially in NJPW – and it’s worthy of the final spot 99 times easy. Unfortunately, Wrestle Kingdom 17 was that rare exception, as the duo were booked to follow up Kenny Omega’s return to NJPW after four years of […]

Wrestle Kingdom 17‘s first 10 matches were all good to very good – with one lone expectation – but when Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay made their way into the ring – scored to “One Winged Angel” and “Elevated,” respectively – fans in the Tokyo Dome were treated to nothing short of a legendary bout, […]

The Great Muta, or, as he’s known to the NJPW World, Kenji Muto, entered Wrestle Kingdom 17 with a heavy weight on his shoulders. One of the defining performers in the promotion during one of the boomiest periods of professional wrestling history, Muta came into the match, a six-way bout with Shota Umino and Hiroshi […]

To call Karl Anderson’s second NJPW match since re-signing with WWE anything but weird would be an incredible understatement. Advertised for the match with Doc-now-Luke Gallows by his side, who ultimately didn’t show up due to being used for a nothing burger spot on Monday Night RAW, Anderson came out expecting the sort of hero’s […]

I have bad news for you, Samoa Joe, your reign as the unquestioned King of Television has officially been challenged, as Zack Sabre Jr. has officially become the NJPW World TV Championship with a huge win over Ren Narita. That’s right, with his run in Suzuki-Gun officially over following a team-on-team blow off eight-man tag […]

After losing the Ring of Honor Tag Team Championship belts to The Briscoes at Final Battle and then dropping the Lucha Libre AAA belts to Hermanos Lee in their final match before Dragon Lee jumped ship to WWE as part of the NXT Brand, AEW’s FTR duo of Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood entered NJPW […]

Though she may have lost her last name on the trip over the pacific, Kairi looked every part the superstar worthy of making her debut appearance in the Tokyo Dome in her biggest bout back in Japan yet at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17. Passing through a pair of grim reapers on her way to the […]

Folks, it’s official: Sasha Banks is no more, as the performer now known as Mercedes Moné officially made her New Japan Pro Wrestling debut at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 just after her old WWE rival Kairi (Sane) successfully defended her IWGP Women’s Title for the first time against Stardom’s Tam Nakano. Walking down to the […]

With New Japan Pro Wrestling’s marquee card of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 17, just over the horizon, fans will finally be afforded the biggest treat of the year: WWE’s Karl Anderson back in a “King of Sports” wrestling ring. … okay, maybe seeing “Bright Lights” back in an NJPW ring in a singles match against […]

A lot has been said about the co-main events of Wrestle Kingdom 17, especially by (most) of their participants, Jay White, Kenny Omega, and Will Ospreay. White has blamed his opponent for running Jonah out of the promotion, Omega has called Ospreay an unintelligent hot head, and “The Commonwealth Kingpin” has called “The Cleaner” the […]

As Will Ospreay prepares for one of the biggest matches of his career, the co-main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17 against “The Cleaner” of AEW, Kenny Omega, fans across the professional wrestling world are wondering what’s next for “The Commonwealth Kingpin.” If he can go the distance, retain his IWGP United States Championship, and go […]

Jay White has a bone to pick with Kazuchika Okada ahead of their match at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17. Two of the highest-profile performers working outside of “The Big 2,” WWE and AEW, today, White and Okada held the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for 361 of 2022’s 365 calendar days, with the […]

While Kenny Omega is talking plenty of trash on Will Ospreay ahead of their forthcoming match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, AEW’s “Best Bout Machine” has also found some time to discuss other aspects of professional wrestling, including his run in DDT Pro Wrestling, the promotion he worked for before jumping to New Japan Pro Wrestling […]

With New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom less than a week away, the hype for the most anticipated card of 2023 – at least so far – is only continuing to grow. Will “Switchblade” Jay White be able to retain his title against Kazuchika Okada? Will AEW’s FTR drop their third-straight title to Bishamon after […]

On November 20, 2022, Kairi Sane – now known as just Kairi – made history, becoming the first woman in history to become the IWGP Women’s Champion. That’s right, after finally returning to Japan after an expansive run in WWE that saw the former Kabuki Warrior win the NXT Women’s Championship and the Tag Team […]

When former AEW World Champion Kenny Omega sat down with New Japan Pro Wrestling for a tell-all interview discussing his return to the promotion for Wrestle Kingdom 17 and his bout against long-time internet rival Will Ospreay, it almost begged for a response from “The Commonwealth Kingpin.” Omega called his British-born foil unintelligent, unstable, and […]

While defeating Will Ospreay in only their second singles match is a huge goal for Kenny Omega, as “The Best Bout Machine” does not like the “Commonwealth Kingpen,” like at all, securing bragging rights isn’t his only reason to fly out to the Capitol of Japan for a marquee match at Wrestle Kingdom 17. No, […]

Though it’s still 2022 for a few days more, Kenny Omega is already turning his attention to 2023 and one of the biggest matches of his career, when AEW’s “Best Bout Machine” goes toe-to-toe against “The Commonwealth Kingpin,” Will Ospreay at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 17. That’s right, after three years away and […]

Wrestle Kingdom is New Japan Pro Wrestling’s equivalent to WrestleMania, and much like WWE’s marquee event, Gedo, Rockey Romero, and company pull out all of the stops to make sure the event is as special as possible. With matches already on the books that felt impossible a few years back, from AEW’s Kenny Omega’s triumphant […]

Though it may come as a bit of a surprise to AEW fans who are only familiar with “The Murderhawk Monster’s” work in Tony Khan’s company, for over a decade, Lance Archer has been a fixture of the Suzuki-Gun faction in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he’s served as a heater for the baddest dude […]

There was a time when Jonah looked primed to become one of the biggest foreign stars in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He was booked very well in both Impact and NJPW Strong, where he’d frequently “send ’em (his opponents) to the morgue” like his theme song suggests, both as a singles performer and as part […]

When The Miz took the ring against Dexter Lumis on Monday Night RAW for a winner-takes-all combination money-ladder match, he really needed to win. Sure, Miz is theoretically loaded, with money just rolling in from his WWE contract, his Miz and Mrs. contract, and his royalties from The Marine movies he made for WWE Studios, […]